LOGINEve’s POV I was on my feet before Malik reached for me, the cup in my hands shattering against the floor as it slipped from numb fingers. The sound of it breaking felt small compared to the roaring in my ears. “Eve,” Malik said sharply The bells began to ring, low and frantic peaks that set every nerve on edge. Wolves poured from doorways, half-shifted, weapons half-drawn, smoke drifted over the treetops to the north, thin and black against the grey sky. We weren’t sure it was fire but that was the safest guess we had We didnt speak as we ran, the ground felt wrong, it was warm as though it had been wounded from below. I could feel the magic long before we reached the clearing,I felt it twisting against my skin like a living thing.The patrol markers ended abruptly at the tree line, no blood or bodies, the earth was scorched in a perfect, uneven ring, the soil fused into blackened glass that cracked beneath our boots. Trees leaned away from the center as if it was recoiling, bark
Malik’s POV I only realized Morwenna was missing while I was shouting at a map. The council chamber smelled like ink, old stone and sweat. Patrol routes were marked in charcoal,erased and then redrawn, borders were circled thick and then thin and then redrawn thick again, names of missing wolves circled in red, resources crossed out, recalculated and then crossed out again. I realized that throughout all the drama that had happened in the past few days, she was missing im all “Meanwhile, who approved healer roatations?” I asked knowing that whoever did may have answers as to Morwenna’s whereabouts A junior councilman cleared his throat. “Dorian did, three nights ago.” Three nights ago was definitely impossible because Dorian and I were fighting to keep our bodies together in one piece. But I didn’t say this to them. “Okayy…and then?”“Morwenn volunteered to cover additional hours,”someone said. “She said it was necessary,” I straightened slowly. “When was the last time anyone s
Eve’s POV I didn’t go looking for him, well at least that was the lie I told myself as im my feet carried me down the narrow stone corridor that led away from the council’s chamber, past the torches that flickered like nervous people. I told myself I was only walking to clear my head, to outrun the pressure building behind my eyes, that this was why I didn’t wait for Malik to open his eyes before leaving, that I was getting justice for him. Rage always had a direction and mine led straight to the alpha of Blackthorn, Dorian.I heard him before I saw him, his voice low as though he was actively trying to not be heard by anyone among us, he was speaking to one of the guards stationed near my wing. Alpha-perfect, I noticed the injury on his shoulders and for a second my resolve softened but I didn’t let it, I was angry and it was all his fault, he just stood like the world wasn’t cracking under his feet, as if he wasn’t seeing exactly what his crazy betrothed was doing, if he had forgo
Dorian’s POV I got the first warning though late, it wasn’t a sound, it was a feeling…instincts. I felt this sharp, cold pull in my got that told me something was about to go wrong and we had to make sure we survived it no matter what, I turned even as the world moved before my very eyes Steel flashed where Malik’s shoulder had been a little earlier.”Down now!” I tired, slamming into him as the blade sliced through the air, so close I almost felt it against my own skin. We both hit the forest hard, leaves and dirt exploding around us. Malik rolled instantly, already reaching for the weapon strapped to his thigh, his movements were swift despite the stiffness I knew came from the injury he suffered yesterday. That’s Malik anyway, being the hero for everyone and never letting anyone be his own hero. I was on my feet a second later but the forest had suddenly gone quiet. We were certain the path wasn’t all clear now and the quiet came from every other thing in the forest deciding the
Eve’s POV When your heart and body move as one,when they connect and operate in the same way, you begin to know things before your body has language for them. I was standing at the edge of the clearing watching the morning most slowly loosen its grip on the forest when I felt this pang of pain in my chest. My breath stalled halfway in and the world tilted just enough to hold in the awareness that something had changed even if I couldn’t name it Malik. My fingers curled, nails biting into my palms as if my body already knew what my mind was trying to catch up to …he’s hurt I took a step back and then another, my heart hammering as if it were trying to outrun something I couldn’t see. “No,no,no” I whispered to myself I pressed a hand to my chest as if it would still the sensation, I could feel that something was wrong and I could only hope he wasn’t in pain but with everything I was feeling, I could tell that something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t think he was deadHe wasn’t de
Malik’s POV I was by the western border, alone with two of our best scouts when it struck. A movement from the corner of my vision, sudden and impossible to track. One second we were walking and the next was pain, a sharp blow to my side send me crashing to the ground Instincts took over as I rolled to my feet, sensing the shadow again, it was a fluid shape that belonged to any wolf I had trained or known, I lunged forward, my claws out and fangs bared but it was gone, melting into the darkness. “Malik!” One of the scouts shouted, panic in his voice. I stalked forward, aware of every leaf that crunched under my boot. Then it came again. A darting movement from above me and then the snap of a branch and then a figure I couldn’t exactly name. I reacted instantly, leaping but the strike met only air. “Backup!” I barked but the words felt small. My scouts were scrambling Alpert but inexperienced against things that didn’t fight by ordinary rules I felt glass scrape across my side,







